Will New Yorkers and Big Apple visitors no longer be able to enjoy the delicious taste of pizzas in the city? According to restaurateurs who spoke to the New York Post, this is definitely a threat facing the industry.
A new directive from the New York Department of Environmental Protection on carbon emissions into the city's air states that pizzerias with ovens created before May 2016 will have to cut carbon emissions by 75%. A decision that means ending the use of coal or wood in New York pizzerias or, alternatively, installing an expensive air purification system that requires regular maintenance – a cost that will come at the expense of the pizzerias themselves. But even worse, the consequences of the decision could be damage to the taste of the beloved pizza and drastic price increases.
Kill the pizza? Arturo's Pizzeria in New York, which will have to adapt to regulations, Photo: New York
The new rules caused a real uproar in the city. A restaurateur who spoke anonymously to the New York Post said it was actually an execution of an entire area of New York. "If you take the charcoal out of the pizza making process, you're actually damaging one of the main factors that add its special flavor to the dish and then you kill, in effect, the pizza," he said, adding: "Beyond that, it's a law that requires us to fund the changes in our ovens ourselves and that will cost a fortune."
New Yorkers are also outraged by the new regulation, which is reflected in various reactions on social media. Some users even explicitly warned city officials not to go near "our pizzas." One user wrote on Twitter that "New York has outlawed the right way to make pizza properly." Another wrote that the new regulation would hurt the city's legendary pizzerias: "These are places that have perfected their pizza style, which millions of people have longed to eat at for decades."
Pizza recipe with Maya Darin // Photo: Moshe Ben Simhon
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